The hosts are heading into the match on the back of a goalless draw against rock-bottom side Angers on Sunday, while Lens shared the spoils against Brest (1-1) in the top flight, on the same day.
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Lorient will host Lens in the Coupe de France round of 16 fixture at Stade Yves Allainmat-Le Moustoir on Thursday night. Both sides are heading into the match on the back of Ligue 1-draws in the weekend. The hosts played out a goalless draw against Angers, while Lens shared the spoils away to Brest (1-1). As of now, the visitors are occupying third spot in the French top tier standings, having collected 46 points from 22 games, eight adrift of leaders Paris Saint-Germain. Lorient, meanwhile, are sitting four places behind the Blood and Gold, with 36 points to their name.
🎙️La conférence de presse de Régis Le Bris avant la rencontre face au @RCLens en @coupedefrance.#FCLRCL / #AllezLesMerlus pic.twitter.com/JfEQCCcA1D
— FC LORIENT 🐟 (@FCLorient) February 8, 2023
Lorient reached this far in the competition, courtesy of getting the better of La Chataigneraie (6-0) and Bastia in the previous round fixtures. Against Bastia, Les Merlus prevailed 4-1 on penalties after the match was tied at 1-1 in 120 minutes of play. Ibrahima Kone’s 64th-minute effort gave the lead to Lorient, before Bastia leveled the score through Joris Sainati, nine minutes from time. Meanwhile, on Sunday, Lorient extended their unbeaten run at home to three straight games. Although a 0-0 draw against rock-bottom side Angers was a disappointing result, it was only their second clean sheet at home in the 2022-23 domestic season.
Lens, on the other hand, are going through a bit of a rough patch, having collected just two points from their last three outings. Last time out, the Blood and Gold came from behind to earn a point away to Brest, courtesy of Jonathan Gradit’s 83rd-minute effort. It was their fourth consecutive league-draw away from home. Meanwhile, Franck Haise’s side reached this far in the French Cup by defeating Linas-Montlhery ( 0-2) and Brest (1-3) in the previous rounds. Wesley Said, Facundo Medina and Adrien Thomasson struck in the first half for Lens in the round of 32 encounter at Stade Francis-le Ble on January 22.
Lorient captain Laurent Abergel is sidelined with a groin injury, joining the likes of Julien Laporte and Theo Le Bris in the medical room. Kone might lead the line, with Faivre, Innocent and Dieng in support. As for Lens, Brica Samba, who has nine Ligue 1 clean sheets to his name, could be dropped to the bench with Jean-Louis Leca occupying the goal as seen in the previous rounds of Coupe de France. Wuilker Farinez and Jimmy Cabot are out with ACL injuries, while Adam Buksa is nursing a sprained ankle, and defenders Steven Fortes and Massadio Haidara are dealing with knee and calf problems respectively.
Lorient Probable line-up: Mannone, Kalulu, Meite, Talbi, Le Goff, Le Fee, Mekengo, Faivre, Innocent, Dieng, Kone
Lens probable line-up: Leca, Machado, Medina, Gradit, Danso, Costa, Fofana, Onana, Frankowski, Openda, Sotoca
Lorient
| Opponents | Score |
| Angers | 0-0 (D) |
| Reims | 4-2 (L) |
| Rennes | 2-1 (W) |
| Bastia | 1-2 (L) |
| Marseille | 3-1 (L) |
Lens
| Opponents | Score |
| Brest | 1-1 (D) |
| Nice | 0-1 (L) |
| Troyes | 1-1 (D) |
| Brest | 1-3 (W) |
| Auxerre | 1-0 (W) |
| Last 5 match-results | Score |
| Lens beat Lorient | 5-2 |
| Lorient beat lens | 2-0 |
| Lens draw Lorient | 0-0 |
| Lens beat Lorient | 4-1 |
| Lens beat Lorient | 2-3 |
The French Cup match between Lorient and Lens will take place at Stade Yves Allainmat-Le Moustoir on Friday at 1:30 am IST.
| Lorient vs Lens | Key Details |
| Date | February 9 (Thursday) |
| Venue | Stade de Moustoir |
| Kickoff time in France | 9:00 pm (Thursday) |
| Kickoff time in India | 1:30 am (Friday) |
The live telecast of the French Cup match between Lorient and Lens can be seen on beIN Sports network in France.
